According to the government, this is an important measure to fight tax avoidance worldwide. “A complicated issue,” says tax economics professor Peter Kavelaars of Leiden University.
According to Kavelaars, this means that if, for example, less than 15 percent is levied abroad at one of the companies, the Netherlands will levy up to that 15 percent.
‘If the IRS has enough capacity for this, I’m stubborn’
‘It’s not just the Netherlands that does this. Although this is Dutch legislation, it is based on a European directive and is ultimately intended to be extended worldwide.’
European guideline
According to Kavelaars, the Netherlands is not unique in this, because it is a European obligation. It also needs to be done quickly because the law is due to go into effect on January 1st. Incidentally, a tax of 15 percent is unlikely to occur within the European Union because the average rate within the Union is already 20 percent, but there are also countries similar to tax havens where the rates are lower low.
Low yield
According to Kavelaars, the proceeds of the bill are actually very low: the government expects to raise around 450 million on an annual basis. “That’s not much for such an incredibly complex and complicated bill.” Kavelaars thinks another 50 million is levied each year. At the same time, the other 400 million Dutch companies that have moved to low-tax countries are assumed to bring that money back to the Netherlands. “But this is very uncertain.”
‘The question is whether it all makes so much sense’
Kavelaars repeats how complicated this exercise is, not only for the ficus, but also for tax advisers and accountants. After all, these are big concerns with many branches, so it is actually necessary to check for each partner whether that minimum percentage is met.